I'm 27 years old. I've recently had full blood work done - all of which came back normal. I had a stress test in 2013 to check for any deformities. My heart is fine. I've suffered with panic attacks for awhile. Been to the hospital many times, about 20, all of which are normal results, so you can understand why I don't want to go.

I'm going to make an appointment next week, but it's Sunday and I'm really nervous, so I figured I could get some opinions or maybe so peace of mind.

I woke up this morning, didn't sleep that well, feeling shaky and disoriented. Started feeling fine. Sitting at my computer I start to feel weird in my chest, like a palpitation but not really. I guess that's confusing, but it's the best way I can describe it. My blood pressure was fine, pulse was high (100-109) and my blood oxygen level was 98%. So all was pretty normal. Anyway, I drank water and calmed myself down well enough to relax a bit, then I got up to get some cereal, as I was eating it, the feeling came back in my chest. I feel like I'm going to panic and just want to get calm again. My chest has felt weird all day. I've just been lying in bed scared to do anything else that might irritate it. Just wanna cry.

What's going on with my body? Is this really all stress/anxiety related or what?

Sorry you are experiencing this. As a sufferer myself of not only generalized anxiety but also hypochondria, I can relate. If you're just having mild heart flutters that is nothing to be concerned about. I have mitral valve prolapse and my cardiologist told me that it is more common for people to have benign heart palpitations then it is for someone to never have one. Unless you are having an uncontrollable racing heart or chest pain I would imagine that it is anxiety related. I of course am not a healthcare professional I'm just speaking from my own personal experience.

Yes. What you are experiencing could definitely be panic/anxiety. The story sounds all too familiar. And panic/anxiety disorder is a very real thing that causes very real symptoms. But don't be afraid. There is treatment for it. First, rule out any underlying medical causes. If that is all normal, find a doctor that understands and will treat panic/anxiety. They are going to try and put you on all those SSRI drugs... lexipro, paxil... they didn't work for me. Actually made my anxiety worse. What worked for me was Ativan. .5 mg taken as needed when I felt an attack coming on or had a bad day like you had. Remember, all anxiety is... is your brain thinking there is something wrong when there is not. And your brain causes your body to react to it. Kind of like if a wild animal had you in a corner, your brain would produce adrenaline to deal with the fear... so with anxiety your brain is reacting to fear that doesn't exist. Just don't give up on treating it. I think more times than not people don't view panic/anxiety as a real medical problem. All my best!

Yep, that certainly sounds like anxiety. It took me a long time to finally understand my own condition, but I went through the same thing on occasion for years - once, when I was 17, I truly thought I was having a heart attack, and was rushed to the ER, where an EKG showed I was just fine. Incidentally, I'm not a hypochondriac, and heath stuff in general isn't a source of anxiety for me - I'm sure that makes these things even more confusing, but a panic attack can legitimately feel like a heart condition. At the time, I described it as feeling like my heart was "beating sideways."

The above poster is absolutely right about how much that fear makes the physical sensations worse in the moment, though. If it happens again, I recommend spending a few minutes taking slow, deep breaths (slow is important - there are actually some great free phone apps that can help you pace your breathing in such moments, which forces your mind to relax). Even for those of us who require medication, those techniques really help in a pinch.

But it also can help to do some thinking about what was going on around that time - if you can identify a recent trauma or major source of stress in your life, it would explain where this is coming from - and just understanding that can help a lot, too. I wish you the best of luck.